Bellegarde, Henri de

b. 1755, Chambèry

d. 1831, Verona

Count, Austrian general. From one of the oldest families in Savoy. Served in the Piedmontese army, then transferred to the Austrian service. At the beginning of 1793 was at the sieges of Maubeuge and Valenciennes. He attracted the notice of the Archduke Charles, and when the latter was given command of one of the armies in Germany in February 1796, he made Bellegarde a member of his staff with the rank of FML. The Archduke was sent to Italy in 1797 to oppose Bonaparte, and Bellegarde was one of those who was given the task of arranging the armistice at Judenburg on 7 April 1797. He also took part in the negotiations at Leoben and Campo Formio. During the campaign of 1799, Bellegarde served under the Archduke Charles, and then under Suvorov. Took part in the battle of Novi. After Marengo, Bellegrade took the place of Melas, who was dismissed from the command of the Austrian army in Italy. In 1805, Bellegarde was sent to command the Venetian provinces, and in December 1806 he was promoted Field-Marshal and made governor of Galicia. In 1809 he returned to active service, commanding a corps at Essling and Wagram. In 1813, when hostilities re-opened with France, he was the president of the Hofkriegsrath, the Court War Council. On 15 December of that year, he took command of the Austrian Army in Italy, and was closely involved in the diplomatic negotiations with Murat which saw the latter align himself with Austria against France. During the years of peace which followed the fall of Napoleon, Bellegarde was a member of the Hofkriegsrath, replacing Schwarzenberg as its president on the latter's death in 1820. Failing eyesight forced him to resign from this position in 1825. Sources: Hoefer, D. Nouvelle biographie universelle/générale, 1852-66, vol. 5, p. 238; Michaud. Biographie universelle ancienne et moderne, 1843-?, vol 3, pp. 561-5. (The latter gives the year of his birth as 1758.)